Resonance
by RLD Flame-point Callie-co
Summary: Extended version of the Revenant epilogue, posted by request of readers. May also become a repository for any other deleted scenes from the series that I feel like writing.
1. Part I: Welcome to the Petrellis

**Here's part one of the deleted scenes from Revenant that I promised to post. Sorry for the delay - it took me a while to get into the swing of writing this, but looking back I feel like maybe I cut Revenant off too soon because I was impatient to finish it, so I wanted to give whoever's interested a chance to read this.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but a bunch of fan-fictitious plots; certainly nothing that's making me any money.**

Resonance: the effect of an event beyond its immediate or surface meaning

Part I: Welcome to the Petrellis

"You did _what_?"

Peter glanced at Bella, who was staring fixedly down at her hands where they lay folded in her lap, face flushed as she avoided meeting her new in-laws' eyes. At least she wasn't hiding in the closet like she'd hinted she would when the time to face Angela arrived. "We got married," he repeated. "Last weekend."

It shouldn't have been possible for Nathan's eyes to get any wider, but somehow they did. Angela's eyes narrowed, and her mouth pinched into a pencil-thin line. She should have seen this in her dreams, but Peter and Bella had ensured she didn't. "Well, I expect you to at least explain why you chose to hide this from me. It isn't like I would have objected to having Miss Swan for a daughter-in-law."

"You wouldn't?"

"Of course not, dear. You could have done worse."

Bella's head popped up; she eyed Angela warily, trying to tell whether she was expressing approval or insinuating that while Peter could have done worse than her, he also could have done better.

"Don't get upset," Nathan advised her. "Coming from Ma, 'could have done worse' means she likes you."

"Really?"

"You love Peter, don't you?" Angela asked.

Her snappy tone earned a glare from the subject of her inquiry, but before Peter could defend his new wife, Bella herself spoke up. "More than anything." Although her voice was quiet, there was no mistaking her sincerity.

"Then you're obviously the best person for him. I hope the two of you will be very happy together."

"Well…that's great. Thank you." She looked down at her lap again.

_And now she's back to her shy act._ Angela barely refrained from rolling her eyes. The girl wasn't what she considered an ideal addition to the Petrelli family, but she reminded herself that Peter's happiness was the important thing, and Bella definitely delivered on that front. And she could show some backbone when sufficiently provoked - Angela had seen flashes of her temper before, but Arthur's death had proved beyond doubt that Bella was no pushover. _It's probably best if I just accept their marriage without a fuss. _

She said nothing more on the subject, and Nathan didn't rush to fill the silence. Interrupting someone's honeymoon to ask for a favor, especially when you hadn't seen or spoken to that person in a long time - even though their lack of contact was Peter's fault; _he_ was the one who'd up and disappeared - was not exactly in good taste.

"So," Peter asked, "did you come down here just to check up on us?"

"Ma did. I came because I need your help with a problem, Pete."

"In other words, seeing your brother is only worth your time when you want something."

Nathan bristled. This was only the second time he'd met Bella Swan, now Bella Petrelli - she didn't know him well enough to be so judgmental. To his surprise Peter seemed to agree; he gently nudged Bella in the ribs and frowned at her as if to say, _Be nice._ She didn't look happy, but she didn't argue with him.

"What kind of problem?"

"It started with Dad…"

Bella stiffened, eyes widening. She reminded Nathan of a deer caught in headlights, but before she could bolt like a deer Peter's hand landed on her knee, which served both to hold her down and calm her.

"He's not a problem anymore. We burned him, remember? He can't come back from that." Peter kept his voice reassuringly calm for Bella's sake but shot a dirty look at Nathan, who realized bringing up Arthur in front of her had been a very bad move.

"Dad's still dead, but before you…took care of him, he exposed us to the government, and they haven't forgotten. With Danko taking the fall for everything that went down at Building 26, the issue's landed in my lap."

"I hope your way of dealing with it'll be better than his - because if it's not, we will stop you."

"Peter," Angela said sharply, "there's no need for threats."

"I'm not threatening anybody."

"Well, obviously I don't want to make his mistakes-" Bella scoffed at his phrasing. Nathan ignored her. "That's why I'd like you to work with me on this. Of course I could use Bella too, if she's willing." He wasn't sure yet how he could use her, but he thought it would be good to get her on his side if that was at all possible, if for no other reason than that she would play a major part in any decisions Peter made from now on.

###

"I don't know if we should trust him," Bella said when Nathan and Angela finally left her alone with Peter. "I don't think _I_ trust him."

"He's not out to get you, you know. And he's my brother."

"That's the problem; you may be brothers, but a guy like that always has an agenda. I'm just afraid he'll end up letting you down."

"Not with you around. He knows what happened to our father and I think he's scared of setting you off."

Bella laughed. "Get real. I'm the last person anyone should be scared of - when you told me your family wanted to see us, I almost asked whether you'd mind if I skipped out. I expected your mom to go ballistic."

"So did I, but Nathan was right - she does like you, even if she thinks you're a bad influence on me."

"I'm a bad influence?" The corners of her mouth curled into a grin.

"Yeah, I never would've married anyone else without running it by Mom first. You're worth it though, and she knows how I feel about you, so she decided to just get over it."

"Good."

"And if she was able to deal with it, so will everyone else. Elle called this morning while you were in the shower; she said she needs you."

"Doesn't everyone these days," Bella muttered.

"Whatever she needs you for, it probably has something to do with Gabriel," Peter warned her.

"Gabriel doesn't scare me anymore." It was true; he was harmless without his powers, and she had taken them from him. What bothered her most was that her period of adjustment to married life was being cut short, but that wasn't terrible - she already knew how to be with Peter, and the fact that they were now husband and wife hadn't affected their relationship as much as she had feared it might.

"So you'll go see her?"

"_We_ will," she corrected. "You're coming with me, aren't you?"

Not liking the idea of her being anywhere near Sylar without him, Peter quickly agreed. She hardly needed him for protection, but the allegedly reformed serial killer hadn't earned his trust yet. If he made a single wrong move around Bella, Peter wanted to be there to have the pleasure of knocking his teeth down his throat, but mostly he just wanted to be wherever Bella was; no matter how long they were together, he never got tired of being with her. Also, Elle and Gabriel were staying with the Cullens, the family Bella had once wanted more than anything to be a part of. Meeting them was going to be interesting.


	2. Part II: New Day In the Old Town

**Anitanaf requested I write about Peter and Claire meeting the rest of the Cullens, so here's my imagining of how that meeting would go. Warning: this may not be my best work since it wasn't something I'd planned on at first, and I stayed up all night finishing it.**

Part II: New Day In the Old Town

Bella had barely set foot inside the Cullens' house when a giant bear of a vampire pounced on her, lifting her off her feet and swinging her in circles while loudly expressing his joy at seeing her alive and well. Peter and Claire were greeted less exuberantly by the heads of the Cullen family.

"Don't just stand there in the doorway; please come in and make yourselves at home," Esme said warmly. She then introduced Carlisle and those of her adopted 'children' that Peter and Claire hadn't met, though this was largely unnecessary - they had heard enough about the Cullens from Bella to be able to tell who was who. "It's such a pleasure to finally meet the rest of Bella's new family."

"Interesting word choice, Mom." Emmett had finally noticed Bella's wedding ring. "What's up with this, Bella? Alice told us you'd found a new guy, but she never said anything about you making it official."

"Well, it's a fairly recent development…" She let her words trail off as most of the room's occupants crowded around her to get a look at her new accessory. The exceptions were Peter and Claire, who had of course already seen it, Edward, who was curiously absent, and Gabriel and Jasper, who both felt that after their last encounters with Bella it would be wise to keep their distance.

Even Rosalie drifted closer to peer at the thin gold band signifying Bella's no-longer-single status. She was pleased that Bella had found another human and given up her foolish notion of becoming a vampire, a decision Rosalie was sure she would have regretted eventually, but couldn't help wondering why only one ring adorned the human girl's finger. "No engagement ring? I thought using those was still the custom?"

"It is, but Peter and I were never really engaged. He just proposed one night, and then we got married the next day."

"That's not _nearly_ enough time to put together a wedding," Alice said indignantly. "I would have helped you with that."

"You mean you would've set up some elaborate ceremony and forced me into another game of Barbie Dress-Up with me as the doll like you did at prom. I'm sorry Alice, but that was exactly what I was trying to avoid - more from my…ugh, my mother-in-law than you, but still. And she already used the guilt trip on me."

Alice sighed. "All right. Just please tell me you at least wore a dress."

Bella guiltily broke eye contact with her former best friend. "Um…if hearing that will make you feel better, sure."

"Bella!"

"That's enough, Alice," Carlisle said gently but firmly. "The important thing is that she's happy with her decision, and you are, aren't you, Bella?"

"Yes." She looked over at Peter and smiled, as she frequently did any time she saw him. "I've never been happier."

Elle gave Peter a congratulatory hug. "Good for you! You got the world's biggest commitment-phobe to say 'I do'." She turned to Claire. "Guess this makes you her niece now too."

"Yeah, that's pretty awesome. I always wanted a cool aunt."

"Right… Hey, she can ground you now!"

Claire rolled her eyes. "And now I'm _really_ glad Peter married Bella instead of you. Besides, I don't know if she'll even be around to ground me - I'm still at Dartmouth, but she's taking a break from college. I guess she can afford to now that she's gonna live forever."

The news that Bella had somehow acquired immortality while remaining human caused a ripple of interest among the Cullens, who immediately began bombarding her with questions. Even Jasper was visibly intrigued. Bella, however, was overwhelmed.

Sensing that she'd had enough of being the center of attention, Peter stepped in. "Bella got her new ability from Claire, and Claire will be happy to tell you all about it. Now, Elle called us here because she thinks Gabriel's ready to get some of his powers back, so how about we let Bella do what she came to do?" He took her hand and led her away, indicating that Gabriel and Elle should follow. "We can go out to the backyard if you'd rather work without an audience."

Bella smiled at him again, this time out of gratitude. _This is why I love you._

_Oh sure, leave me alone with the vampires._ Claire's thought-speak dripped sarcasm. _If they eat me, you're gonna feel really bad about this. _

###

"How does it feel having your powers back?" Elle's voice was barely more than a whisper as she watched her boyfriend use said powers for the first time in weeks. He was only levitating Esme's gardening tools, but for someone who had recently spent time as a completely ordinary human it was still a big step.

"It's different… All my old abilities are there, but the drive to take more is gone."

Bella and Peter, who had been poised to spring into action at the smallest sign of aggression, relaxed. "That's because your intuitive aptitude is still blocked," Bella informed him. "You'll never have to deal with the hunger again."

"Thank you. Carlisle and Edward have taught me a lot about resisting those urges, but it's still a relief to know there's no chance I could slip up. And…it's good to be myself again, without those instincts driving me."

"He's a lot nicer now," Elle added. "Hey, he's not gonna start dressing like a geek again, is he?"

"I think his wardrobe is something the two of you will have to work out." Bella glanced over her shoulder to see if he was listening, but he had gone into the garage and had just turned one of Emmett's wrenches into gold while Peter observed. "So, is everything okay…you know, with you and him?"

"Yeah, we're great - he hasn't tried to kill me again or anything, which is a huge relief because I think if your boyfriend makes too many attempts on your life it's a sign your relationship is on the rocks."

Unsure if Elle was joking or not, Bella settled for a noncommittal, "Right… I'd tell you to be careful, but my first boyfriend had to constantly fight to not give in and have me for lunch _and_ could have easily killed me by accident, so I'm probably the last person who should lecture you about risky relationships."

"Or risks in general considering all the times I've saved your butt."

"You haven't told Emmett about any of those times, have you?"

"Sure, he thinks it's hilarious how you can't stay out of trouble. Edward, not so much - I think it's more upsetting than amusing for him."

"Where is Edward anyway? I haven't seen him since we got here."

"He said he was going hunting, but his eyes didn't look completely black yet, so I bet he just wanted to avoid you. He's still hung up on you, you know."

Bella sighed. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Give him space."

There was a sudden explosion of raised voices from the garage, cutting off any further queries about Edward's wellbeing. "Uh-oh, I think Emmett and Rosalie just saw that Gabriel messed with their tools."

Elle winced. "I noticed that those two are pretty serious about anything to do with their cars. Think we should go make sure this doesn't escalate into violence?"

"Let's give them a minute or thirty to cool off first."

By the time they deemed it safe to enter the situation had been resolved by Gabriel promising to replace the tools he had alchemically transformed or melted, and Emmett had challenged Peter to an arm-wrestling match.

"Peter's going to beat him," Alice predicted in a whisper, "and then he'll demand a rematch. He and Jasper have a bet on the outcome, of course."

"Naturally," Bella said wryly.

"Oh, and Edward will be back soon." A frown crossed Alice's face; he would likely react badly to hearing that Bella had married someone else.

"Poor guy," Elle remarked. "Spending all this time with him and seeing how much he still loves Bella, I almost feel sorry for him."

Claire raised an eyebrow. "_You_ feel sorry for Edward Cullen? I didn't think you were a big fan of his."

"I'm not - that's why I can't wait to see his face when he realizes his telepathy won't work on you anymore. This makes, what, three people whose minds he can't read?"

"Me, Peter, and now Claire - yes, that's three of us with mental shields. But you're not gonna use it to mess with him, are you?" Bella asked sharply.

Elle put on her best innocent expression. "Us, mess with Edward? No way." Then, once Bella's back was turned: "We're totally messing with him, right?"

Claire returned Elle's almost sinister grin with one of her own. "You bet."

**And as you see Edward still can't catch a break in this series. **


	3. Unnatural Allies

**This is not part of the extended epilogue, just a deleted scene from Revenant ch22 of when Claire and Elle enlisted Edward's and Alice's help to rescue Bella. Enjoy!**

Unnatural Allies

_"Shouldn't we wash up a little and change your shirt? If we're going to talk to a couple of vamps, we might not want to show up dripping blood. Just a thought."_

Claire reluctantly agreed that Elle had a point; they probably wouldn't even get past the front desk of the Cullens' fancy hotel if they showed up looking like horror movie extras, and the vampires would be more likely to attack them than help them. "Okay, I guess you're right."

"I'll never get tired of hearing you say that," Elle said smugly.

###

They arrived at the hotel thirty minutes later, clean and dressed in bloodstain-free clothes, to find Edward waiting for them under the shade of a covered pickup/drop-off spot. "I thought Alice must be mistaken when she saw you coming - I didn't get the impression you liked us very much."

"We don't," Claire assured him, "but we need help and unfortunately there's no one else we can ask. I know we're probably the last people you want to do favors for, but Bella could wind up dead if you don't. We think she's been kidnapped by some very dangerous people, and if you ever cared about her at all you'll help us save her."

"Of course I will. I know you don't believe me, but I love her-"

"You have a funny way of showing it," Claire muttered.

Edward looked past her to Elle. "-So there's no need for you to resort to more forceful methods of persuasion. Sorry - I know you would have enjoyed electrocuting me."

"Don't take it personally. She's sadistic," Claire told him.

"And I think you're a creep," Elle added.

"I would never have guessed," Edward said dryly.

"So where's Alice? Time's kinda of the essence here."

"She's bringing the car around. She said I should tell you that according to her vision we're about to spend several hours on the road…with no rest stops."

"That's okay - I passed on the extra-large Coke at lunch. And while we're enjoying this quality time together, you can explain to us why you thought you could break Bella's heart and get away with it," Elle said cheerfully. "And you should know that if I don't like what I hear…" Her voice trailed off threateningly.

_What have I gotten myself into?_ Edward wondered.

"Don't worry, I won't let her hurt you," Claire assured him. "You shouldn't have left Bella the way you did and I'm glad she's not still moping over you, but you're doing a good thing by helping her now. I just hope you aren't doing it because you think it'll make her fall for you again."

"Not at all. Her safety and happiness are all that matter to me, and if she's happy with your uncle then I accept her decision."

She searched his face for any hint of dishonesty and, finding nothing but sincerity, surprised herself by thinking that Edward Cullen might be an okay guy after all. She looked away quickly, not wanting him to read too much into that stray thought. Okay or not, he was still a vampire and Bella's ex - not someone she was sure she wanted to make friends with.

At that moment Alice drove around the corner from the parking lot, turning so sharply that the tires lifted off the ground on one side - but she was driving Claire's Dodge Charger, not her Porsche.

"How'd she get Claire's car keys?" Elle asked nobody in particular.

Claire gasped in dismay as she climbed into the front passenger seat. "You _hotwired my car_?"

"It has more room than mine," Alice said remorselessly, "and it's fast enough to suit our needs. Oh, and Edward will be driving."

"Like hell he will!"

"I knew you wouldn't like it - you'd argue and end up flipping a coin, and he would win. I'm just saving you the time it would take to actually do all that. And I should warn you," she continued as Edward and Elle got in, "he drives like a bat out of hell. I hope neither of you suffer from motion sickness."

**So there we have the beginning of some kind of Claire/Edward friendship. I never intended to actually put them together since according to Ms Meyer's rules vampires mate for life (like wolves, ironically) and I'm not sure Claire would want to date one, I'd like to think they could at least be friends or have a sort of platonic 'everyone else is paired off so we're left with each other' not-quite-romance…thing. Maybe it's just because I think Edward needs someone tougher than Bella who won't let him push her around, and Claire's had a lot of bad luck with guys so maybe she could use someone who would stick by her no matter what, and Edward's nothing if not…loyal in his way.**


	4. Part III: Another Day At the Office

**OK people this is it - this is how I should have ended Revenant. I've also decided it'll be the last chapter unless anyone has any compelling requests for something they'd like me to add; as of now I can't think of anything else, and with school starting next week I'd like to wrap up this little project. Hope you enjoy reading about our favorite characters' lives a few years after the end of Revenant, when all the crazy stuff is over and they all have nice, normal, boring jobs. *Snort* Yeah right, like that would ever happen.**

Part III: Another Day At the Office

_4 years later_

_BPOV_

"Hey Petrelli."

I looked up from my computer and saw Luke Campbell on the other side of my desk. "Yes?"

"The boss wants to see you."

"Which one?" When the president had asked Nathan to come up with a healthier alternative to Arthur's and Danko's methods of keeping our kind under control, the first person he'd called for help - even before Peter and me - had been Noah Bennet. With his input, the new program Nathan set up to meet the president's demands was similar to the old Company Angela had dissolved; Noah had realized Primatech wasn't perfect and made some changes when Nathan gave him the chance to start over with full support and funding from the US government, but he kept the 'one of us, one of them' rule, so we had two direct superiors: Noah himself (the 'normal' one) and-

"The one you're married to," Luke informed me. "Probably has some special 'assignment' for you."

My eyes narrowed at his suggestive tone. Although Luke's talent for generating microwave energy was useful (not to mention extremely cool) I didn't care for his disrespectful attitude, even if I understood it after Edward explained that Luke thought of me as another kid like himself. I couldn't blame him; even though I had actually lived twenty-two years I had stopped aging at nineteen, and Luke hadn't known me long enough to realize that my physical and mental ages were not the same.

A collision with someone much larger jolted me out of my musings on immortality. Pain flared in my palms and backside as I hit the floor, then faded as my secondary ability repaired the minor injury. The man I'd crashed into helped me up, apologizing for not seeing me.

"It was my fault, Gabriel, I wasn't watching where I was going. Sorry."

"It's fine; I hoped I'd run into you today anyway-"

"You got your wish," I quipped.

"I want to show you something." Gabriel reached into his pocket and took out a small black jewelry box.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"Open it." He waited anxiously as I opened the box and inspected the ring inside. "Do you think Elle will like it?"

"It's beautiful; she'll love it." He relaxed, but only fractionally. "But you wanted more than just my opinion on the ring."

He didn't bother denying it. "Do you think you could talk Peter and Noah into reconsidering banning her from active duty? She's not happy about it, and I know they'd rather do you a favor than me."

That was true; even though Gabriel had left his Sylar persona behind for good four years ago, Noah still hadn't completely forgiven him for all the times he'd tried to steal Claire's ability and the trauma he'd caused her when he finally succeeded. Peter didn't hold any grudges against him, but he was more likely to listen to me. "I don't think that's a good idea, Gabriel. I mean-" I lowered my voice and leaned in "-she's pregnant."

"She can still take care of herself," he argued halfheartedly.

I shook my head, fighting a smile. "When she called the other day to tell me the news, I got the feeling she's not exactly happy about the situation. If she's taking it out on you, I can remind her that it isn't _all_ your fault."

Gabriel looked relieved. "Thanks, Bella."

"Any time." I started to walk away, then stopped and turned back. "Good luck with your proposal."

###

"What kept you?" Peter demanded, shutting and locking the door the instant I stepped inside his private office.

"Gabriel," I answered shortly. "He's planning on asking Elle to marry him, you know, since they're having a baby. Claire's gonna freak when she finds out, especially if she's on their list of potential babysitters."

Peter forced a laugh. I felt a flash of concern. At first I had thought he'd merely called me in for company because he was bored and regretted (again) letting Nathan push him into taking this job, but if that were the case my arrival should have brightened his mood immediately. "What's wrong?"

"Victoria. We're about to see her again."

My initial reaction to hearing that name again was to panic; then my rational mind reasserted itself, saying there was no need for that yet - there was no sign that a massacre was taking place outside, so she couldn't be here at this very minute. I had no doubt that she would get here eventually - Peter's precognitive powers wouldn't have warned him of her arrival unless their paths were set to cross - but we had some time to prepare. "What is she doing here? Has she changed her mind about killing Edward?" My voice dropped to a fearful whisper as a far worse possibility crossed my mind. "Or is she after you?" Peter had had nothing to do with eliminating James, which made him an unlikely target for her vengeance, but he _had_ been instrumental in helping the Quileute pack destroy her army of newborns…

"Relax, she's not after Edward or me. She's not coming _here_ exactly, just into the city, and I'm not letting her leave."

"You promised me-"

"That I wouldn't try to hunt her down. I haven't, but you can't expect me to just ignore her being so close."

"No," I sighed, "I guess I can't."

He gripped my wrists gently and pulled me closer. "I'm working on a plan to take her down. Wanna help?"

"You have an odd idea of a romantic night out, but I'm in."

We then kissed until he suddenly pulled away and said, "We should bring Claire and Edward too."

"Are we double dating now?"

"I thought you just said vampire hunting doesn't count as a date."

"I said it's a weird date, not that it _isn't_ a date."

_Two days later_

_9:31 PM_

"It's not a date! Seriously, how many times do I have to tell people Edward and I aren't together!"

"Well, you do spend a lot of time with him. Actually I think he's the only guy you spend a lot of time with who isn't already taken. Of course _I_ know there's nothing going on between you," I quickly added as we walked under a streetlight, its light allowing me to see Claire's expression better in the darkness, "but I can sort of see how someone who doesn't know you both as well as I do might get the wrong idea."

Claire appeared horrified and maybe slightly disgusted that she and Edward could ever be mistaken for a couple. "Really? Me and Edward Cullen?"

I couldn't help feeling a little offended at her tone; I had dated him after all. "What's wrong with Edward?"

"Nothing, he's my best guy friend. I just don't think of him as a boyfriend, and he doesn't think of me that way either."

Our boy talk was rudely interrupted when a familiar red-haired, catlike figure melted out of the shadows in front of us. "You!" Victoria's face seemed even paler than normal as she stared at me, her dark crimson eyes wide with disbelief. "It can't be - you're dead! I killed you!"

"It didn't take."

"Maybe you're losing your touch," Claire suggested with a smirk.

While Victoria continued to gape at me as if she were seeing…well, as if she were seeing a girl who should be dead standing there alive and well, Peter and Edward appeared on either side of her. They had been close by all along, but had stayed invisible while Claire and I strolled around the part of Central Park where Victoria was supposed to show up, laying down a scent trail to lure her in. We had guessed that she wouldn't be able to resist investigating if she caught my scent. It had changed a little since I acquired Claire's healing power, which was why she was with me; we hoped Victoria would attribute the change to the presence of another human instead of deciding she couldn't be smelling me and losing interest. We were also counting on our combined scents, and Peter's, to mask the smell of Edward, and it looked like our plan had worked perfectly.

"Hello Victoria," Edward snarled. Without giving her another second to react he lunged for her neck. It was over so fast I barely saw it; his lips seemed to just brush her skin - it almost looked like he could have been kissing her - and then her head was falling away from her body, that vivid hair spread on the ground like a pool of fire. Then Edward stepped back, and Peter disintegrated both pieces. In less than two minutes every last trace of Victoria was gone.

"That was fast," Claire commented, "and kinda anticlimactic. I was looking forward to watching an epic vampire battle."

"So sorry to disappoint you," Edward said sarcastically. "I just thought it would be a bad idea to leave Central Park looking like a tornado had swept through a small part of it. Besides, I'd been looking forward to killing her for a very long time; I didn't want to risk her slipping away again."

Claire blinked at the rough, almost growling undertone in his velvet-smooth voice. "Okay… So now what'll we do for the rest of the night?"

"We could catch a movie," I offered.

Edward tilted his head, listening to some far-off sound the rest of us couldn't hear yet. "No, I have a feeling our work isn't done yet."

###

A short time later a helicopter landed in an open field nearby. Noah jumped out and jogged over to where we stood waiting. "I've been looking everywhere for you four! What are you doing all the way out here?"

"Taking a walk," Peter answered.

"Right, I'm taking a walk, Dad," Claire said, "with Peter and Bella. I'm not on a date with Edward, so you didn't have to fly out looking for me."

"That's not why I'm here, sweetheart. Peter, you remember that series of earthquakes I've been keeping an eye on?"

"Yeah."

"I just got confirmation that Samuel Sullivan was in all of those places when the quakes occurred. I know you, Claire, and Bella have met him before, so I'd like your help taking him down. Edward too, if he'd like to come."

All four of us agreed and climbed into the chopper with Noah and his CIA girlfriend Lauren Gilmore, ready to go to work.

**Thanks for reading, and a special thank you to Miss Snazzy, paulswolfgirl2355, and CJaMes12 for the reviews. I love you guys.**


	5. The Shakespearean Analogy

**Okay, I spoke too soon when I said I wasn't going to post any more on this. This is just a short scene between Peter and Bella as she deals with the aftermath of the Building 26 episode; mostly it's me paying homage to Stephenie Meyer's 'relating what Bella's going through to classic literature' thing.**

**Warning: copious Shakespeare references.**

The Shakespearean Analogy

Bella sat with a book in her lap, but she wasn't reading it. Her eyes were glazed as she stared blankly into space. "What're you doing?"

She jumped as her reverie shattered but relaxed when she saw it was only Peter. "Over-identifying with fictional characters. Again."

He was intrigued; this was one of her most unusual quirks, and it offered new and different insights into what went on inside that unreadable mind of hers. He lifted her book just enough to read the title on its spine - a collection of Shakespeare's plays. "Let me guess. Juliet, right?" _Romeo and Juliet_ was Bella's favorite, and the heroine of an epic love story seemed like someone she would relate to.

She gave a slight nod. "I used to have kind of a thing for Romeo - until I met better men who actually exist, of course." She flashed him a quick smile which quickly disappeared, giving way to a more somber look. "But since everything went down at Building 26 I've been reading something else."

Peter circled around so he could look over her shoulder at the open book. "_Macbeth_? I didn't know you liked that one."

"I've gained a new appreciation for it." She ran her finger down the page, her eyes never leaving the printed words. "Lady Macbeth helped her husband murder the king so they could take over," she said softly.

"And then guilt over what they'd done drove her insane," Peter added sharply. "Bella, look at me. Do you regret shooting Arthur?"

Bella smiled wryly. "You don't see me compulsively scrubbing my hands, do you?" He didn't smile back. "No," she said more seriously. "King Duncan was a nice guy. Arthur Petrelli wasn't. Sometimes I've thought I _should_ feel guilty…but I don't. I'm happy he's gone." She sighed. "I just never thought I'd be identifying with the murderous wife of all people."

Peter took the book out of her hands and tossed it aside onto their bed. "You know, I never really liked Juliet."

"What's wrong with Juliet?" Bella demanded.

"She was a wimp. When Romeo was banished, she could've gone with him, or run away on her own to find him when her father told her to marry Paris. Instead she just sat around whining about her messed up love life and waiting for her boyfriend to rescue her. At least Lady Macbeth had the guts to go after what she wanted."

"I never thought of it that way…" Bella grinned as he took her hand and pulled her up out of her chair. Being a Lady Macbeth instead of a Juliet wasn't so bad after all.

**And now I'm really done with this series. For real this time. I'm sure of it. Maybe.**


End file.
